Identify one’s own way of thinking (metacognition)
Identify where knowledge is accumulated
Reflect on one’s own knowledge and way of thinking
B. Formal Assessment
Draw a picture of an atom and identify the parts of it
Diagram and explain how a magnetic domain is created starting with the atom
Differentiate between a magnetic and nonmagnetic domain
Explain how the atom creates magnetism
Create a PowerPoint presentation on an assigned topic
Explain how magnets attract and repel
Explain how a compass works
Describe how to use a compass for navigation
Compare and contrast the Earth’s magnetic versus the geographic poles
Read and comprehend an article on some subtopic of magnetism
Create a thinking map that demonstrates student’s thinking about article topic
Increase student metacognition through the use of a thinking map
III. Assessments
Informal – Circle Map
Formal – Think-Tac-Toe
A. Description of Informal Assessment
A circle map was given at the beginning of the unit as an informal assessment to identify the prior knowledge students had about magnets. Students were to fill in the map writing both what they know about magnets and how they know what they know. The class as a whole made a giant poster of the ideas students shared and displayed it on the wall of the classroom. This map was used again three weeks later to informally assess the new knowledge students learned about magnets and correct common misconceptions students had at the beginning of the unit. Students rewrote the ideas they originally wrote on the map that were incorrect and changed them to make them correct based on what they had learned. The students also made changes to the misconceptions they had on their poster. Students also added new concepts to the sheet and poster that they just learned within the past three weeks that they didn’t know previously. This method of assessment gave students the opportunity to look at their prior knowledge and address and correct the common misconceptions they had on the topic. The poster also created a visual reminder for the students of the knowledge they had learned. The poster was addressed frequently throughout the unit to allow students to add to the poster of concepts.
The formal assessment for this unit is called a “Think-Tac-Toe.” Students are given a tic-tac-toe sheet with nine small projects listed in each box. Students are to choose three different projects in order to complete a “tic-tac-toe.” Each project can be adapted to different learning styles and needs. Ideally each project would correspond to one of Gardner’s “multiple intelligences.” However, my Think-Tac-Toe doesn’t address all of the intelligences. Instead, students will have to pick one project from each row. The first row requires students to draw diagrams and explain certain learned concepts. The level of difficulty of the projects in this row is easy because these require students to recall and diagram concepts seen in class. The third row is the medium level and requires students to read a scientific article on topics that they are already knowledgeable about and create a thinking map based on the information in the article. These articles require students to create a flow map to sequence the events of a topic or a tree map which has them classifying information of a certain topic about magnetism. The purpose of the thinking maps is to assess the student’s ability to read about a topic and comprehend the information obtained from the article as well as organize their thinking about the article into a thinking map. The thinking map also allows the student to reflect on their thinking and understand they way they think and comprehend information. From this assessment the students will hopefully increase their metacognition. The second row contains three projects that are both at the most difficult level and are more time consuming. The first one is to create a PowerPoint on suggested topics students learned in magnetism. The second is to create a book for children teaching them about magnets. This requires students to take topics in magnetism and make it into an age appropriate book. The third is to create a magnet dictionary using the vocabulary words students learned throughout the unit. In this project students must define specific terms given to them in alphabetical order, put them into sentences that correctly represent the definition of the word, and lastly draw a picture that accurately represents the words. This assessment will allow students to choose what they want to do to show their knowledge about magnetism as well as choose projects that best fit their learning style.
The informal assessment was given to the class at the start of the unit. Students were instructed to write anything on the circle map that they knew about magnets and how they knew it. Students were told that if they were unsure about what they knew they should write it down regardless whether they think its right or wrong. After students wrote their individual ideas down the class as a whole shared their ideas and they were put on a poster. The reason for this assessment was to see what my students knew about the topic prior to the unit. It was also a way for me to see what misconceptions they had on the topic of magnets. Three weeks into the unit students reviewed their circle maps and their class poster. Students went through both crossing out and changing any incorrect information that they previously thought was correct. Students also added any new information they learned that they didn’t have on the map. This informal assessment allowed me to see how students’ thinking on magnets has changed and how much new learned information they obtained. It also showed me what misconceptions students were still holding on to and what concepts need to be reviewed.
The informal assessment was not graded formally. I assessed the circle maps by two different criteria. The first was how much the students previously knew about the topic and a how much of it was correct. Second, how many changes did the student make to their circle map and how much new information was added. If a student corrected and added a lot of information then that told me that they understood the unit. If a student didn’t make a lot corrections or added new information then this told me that they may be struggling.
The formal assessment was given at the end of the unit. Students were given a “think-tac-toe” sheet and instructed to read over each project and box. After, I went through each project explaining it in more detail and telling the students what I expected for each project. I also instructed students how many projects from each row they could select. Students were then given 10-15 minutes to decide on the three projects they wanted to do. Folders with rubrics for each projects were put out for students to look through the help them better decide which assignments they were going to complete. Students were then given five days in class along with a weekend to work on their projects. Each project was graded according to the rubric that was with it.
B. Analysis of Informal Assessment
Student 1
I would rate this student’s work as a high level. By looking at the original ideas they wrote down, this student came up with ideas that are higher level compared to other students in the class. Most of the students wrote that magnets attract to metal and they have two different sides. This student wrote more specific and in depth ideas such as: magnets conduct electricity, magnets are found in compasses, and the core of the earth is a magnet. This student didn’t need to make any corrections to their original ideas. The only one they could have made was replacing “positive and negatives sides” with North and South poles. However, this student did add new information that they learned over the past three weeks. Again, the information that they added to their map were higher level ideas than other students. This student added ideas such as: differences between temporary and permanent magnet domains and magnetic material found in animals to help them navigate. Looking at this student’s work it shows me that they not only had a lot of prior knowledge about the topic, but that they also recalled some of the harder concepts taught in the unit. Although the student didn’t add many of the easier concepts taught, the fact that they incorporated the harder ones into their map shows me that they may have already had these easy topics as prior knowledge and the true concepts they learned were of the more challenging ones.
Student 2
I would rate this student’s map as a medium level. The students showed to have some prior knowledge about the topic however, most of the ideas that were written had to do with the attraction properties of metal. After the three weeks the student was able to correct some terminology they used. They replaced “positive and negatives sides” with north and south poles, and corrected the misconception that magnets attract to all metals. The student also added new ideas to the map however, the ideas they added all had to do with magnet attraction. The ideas included were that magnets attract to only three materials, materials are ferromagnetic, and examples of the materials. I would view these ideas as being some of the easier concepts covered in class. The student did include an idea about the domains of ferromagnetic material which was a tougher concept in the unit. Looking at this student’s work I know that the student was able to correct some misconceptions they had which shows me that they are changing the way they think about magnets and that they can recognize the errors in their original thinking. However, since the student only added the easy learned concepts of the unit it makes me wonder if they struggled with some of the harder topics covered. Student 3
This map I would rate as a low level. The student showed that they didn’t have a lot of prior knowledge about the topic. However, the student was unable to add a lot of new ideas to their map. The ideas the student did add were ones that were covered in the very beginning of the unit (i.e. that attraction is a push force and repulsion is a pull force). The student did change their one original idea by adding that magnets attract to a ferro-magnet (not ferromagnetic material). But the new idea still isn’t fully correct. This map indicates to me that the student is struggling with the unit because they were unable to add any of the easier concepts to it and if they are struggling with the easy p[arts then they are definitely not understanding the harder concepts.
Summary Overall, I noticed between these three students that they all had similar misconceptions about magnets. They thought that magnets attract to all metals, and that magnets have a negative and a positive side. At least two of the three students were able to accurately correct their original misconceptions with the information they learned in class. Only one of the three students were able to add harder concepts and ideas about magnetism into their map. Looking at these maps I can tell which concepts students understood and which ones need to be reviewed. I can also see that student three is struggling with a lot of the unit so they would be a student that I would have to supply extra supports to them to help. This assessment meets my learning goals in that all students were able to assess their prior knowledge of magnets. Also, all of the students were able to correct misconceptions they previously had as well as have a visual representation of their thinking process.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment
Student 1 Student 1's Work Samples This student’s performance I rated as high. Their atom diagram was accurate along with detailed explanations for each label. The only error found was that the student though that both protons and neutrons have a positive charge. The student also gave a good description of how a magnetic domain is formed and included a diagram showing the difference between a magnetic and non magnetic domain. By including the pictures with the explanations I could easily see that the student fully understood the concept and the differences between the two.
For the article and thinking map project the student broke down the article into 4 steps on how to use a compass. The student also added extra boxes with each step to go into more detail. The map was written neatly and was organized so that I knew what the student was thinking when they created the map. This map showed me that the student can read an article, comprehend it, and organize the information into a thinking map that accurately represents what they are thinking. It also shows me that this student knows how a compass works both as a magnet and as an orienteering device. Lastly, this student power point was beyond the expectations required for the project. The student gave background information on each of the four topics required before getting into the main topic. The student also included extra information that wasn’t assigned and included numerous pictures that accurately reflected the topic being presented. From viewing this PowerPoint I knew that this student clearly understood how magnets attract and repel, how a compass works, how a magnetic domain is created, and how the magnetic and geographic poles differ from one another. Student 2 Student 2's Work Samples I rated this student’s assessment as medium. For their atom diagram they accurately drew it with all of the correct labels and parts. While the student did give an explanation of how a domain is created they didn’t include a picture which would have given me a better understanding if the student knew what a magnetic domain was and how it is different from a non magnetic domain. This student’s tree map was well written and organized. From looking at it I was easily able to see that the student knew the four main techniques o whale navigation from reading the article. However, I think this student’s explanation for each technique were a little short. I think that if this student went into a little more detail on certain subtopics such as the “sonar” and the “whale talking.” The two branches were a little vague and made it difficult for me to see if they really understood what each of them are and what the difference between them is.
The PowerPoint had many grammatical errors in it and some of the information presented was incomplete. The slide about the compass didn’t really talk about how a compass works. The students didn’t specify what makes the needle point in a certain direction and didn’t make the connection of which magnetic poles of the earth the needle points to. I think that this student could have gone into more detail on many of the topics presented. From this PowerPoint I can see that this student somewhat gets the general idea but may still be fuzzy on some of the specifics of the topics or still some misconceptions. Student 3 Student 3's Work Samples This student’s work I rated as low. The parts of the atom diagram were mislabeled. The student didn’t include neutrons in their atom and put the protons and electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The student also didn’t include a diagram or explanation or how a magnetic domain is created. From looking at the project I can see that this student does not understand what the protons and electrons do in the atom and where they are located. Also, by not including an explanation for a domain I can see that the student doesn’t understand how a domain is formed. This is understandable because in order to understand how a domain is made one has to know how an atom works first.
This student’s flow map was not sequenced correctly and the steps didn’t flow from one to the other. It seems as if the student just grabbed random facts from the article and put them into a flow map formation. This shows me that the student is struggling with their reading comprehension. It is obvious that they did not understand the article they read and how a compass works. It also shows me that they may not understand how to sequence information into a flow map. Therefore, I would need to review how to create a flow map with this student.
The Power Point created did not meet the requirements of the rubric. The student only covered one of the four topics required. The rest of the presentation was on topics that were not assigned and a majority of the information was incomplete or inaccurate. The student also didn’t incorporate any pictures or graphics in to the presentation. I think that this project was rushed and that the student didn’t look at the rubric or requirements for the assignment. Summary: The graph below shows the distribution of grades for the formal assessment of one of my classes. I chose the class for which I had the most students in. The graph shows that when comparing the scores of the females and the males, the males overall had a slightly higher score than the females. Both genders had 100 has the highest grade however, the distribution in-between the male scores were less than the females. Overall, the females’ average on this assessment was a 77 and the males were a 76. Therefore, both averages were about the same and around a C/C+. This to me seems like a good average. It shows that it wasn’t an easy or hard assessment. There were projects that were easy, medium, and hard so all students had the same difficulty level which made it fair. I think what also made this assessment fair was that the students got to pick their assessment. Therefore, they were able to pick projects that they were confident in doing well on.
This informal assessment is something that I would do again for a lesson and I wouldn’t change anything about it. I liked using it because it gave students the opportunity to visually look at their prior knowledge and then reevaluate it later on with new and more accurate information. It also allowed students to look at the way they think and organize their thoughts on a topic. The thinking map was a great way to do this. I also liked this assessment because for the teacher it is easy to look at these maps and see which students are getting it and which ones aren’t. It is obvious to see which misconceptions students still have and what topics they didn’t really understand. Another advantage to this informal assessment is that it can be used in any unit and it is really a great way to activate prior knowledge at the beginning of one.
B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
The Think-Tac-Toe was a great way to assess my students because it gave them the choice of what they wanted to do for their grade. Students are more likely to do well on a project or an assessment that gives them choices, it makes them feel as if they have a say in the class. It is also good because each project can be adapted to a specific type of learning. As a teacher this helps you to meet all of the diverse learning needs of your students. The only improvements I would make on this assessment is to add more projects to it so I have more to pick and choose from. I would also create a more diverse group of projects for students to do. The only down side to this form of assessment is that you have nine different rubrics to grade from which can be a teachers nightmare. Also, next time I would rethink the point values associated with each project and make all projects the same point value. I didn’t think that completely through and different projects came out equaling different point values.
Formal and Informal Assessment of Student Learning
Name: Erin Connors
I. Assignment Description/Requirements
Project Description
II. Description of Learning Goals
A. Informal Assessment
B. Formal Assessment
III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
A circle map was given at the beginning of the unit as an informal assessment to identify the prior knowledge students had about magnets. Students were to fill in the map writing both what they know about magnets and how they know what they know. The class as a whole made a giant poster of the ideas students shared and displayed it on the wall of the classroom. This map was used again three weeks later to informally assess the new knowledge students learned about magnets and correct common misconceptions students had at the beginning of the unit. Students rewrote the ideas they originally wrote on the map that were incorrect and changed them to make them correct based on what they had learned. The students also made changes to the misconceptions they had on their poster. Students also added new concepts to the sheet and poster that they just learned within the past three weeks that they didn’t know previously. This method of assessment gave students the opportunity to look at their prior knowledge and address and correct the common misconceptions they had on the topic. The poster also created a visual reminder for the students of the knowledge they had learned. The poster was addressed frequently throughout the unit to allow students to add to the poster of concepts.B. Description of Formal Assessment
The formal assessment for this unit is called a “Think-Tac-Toe.” Students are given a tic-tac-toe sheet with nine small projects listed in each box. Students are to choose three different projects in order to complete a “tic-tac-toe.” Each project can be adapted to different learning styles and needs. Ideally each project would correspond to one of Gardner’s “multiple intelligences.” However, my Think-Tac-Toe doesn’t address all of the intelligences. Instead, students will have to pick one project from each row. The first row requires students to draw diagrams and explain certain learned concepts. The level of difficulty of the projects in this row is easy because these require students to recall and diagram concepts seen in class.
The third row is the medium level and requires students to read a scientific article on topics that they are already knowledgeable about and create a thinking map based on the information in the article. These articles require students to create a flow map to sequence the events of a topic or a tree map which has them classifying information of a certain topic about magnetism. The purpose of the thinking maps is to assess the student’s ability to read about a topic and comprehend the information obtained from the article as well as organize their thinking about the article into a thinking map. The thinking map also allows the student to reflect on their thinking and understand they way they think and comprehend information. From this assessment the students will hopefully increase their metacognition.
The second row contains three projects that are both at the most difficult level and are more time consuming. The first one is to create a PowerPoint on suggested topics students learned in magnetism. The second is to create a book for children teaching them about magnets. This requires students to take topics in magnetism and make it into an age appropriate book. The third is to create a magnet dictionary using the vocabulary words students learned throughout the unit. In this project students must define specific terms given to them in alphabetical order, put them into sentences that correctly represent the definition of the word, and lastly draw a picture that accurately represents the words.
This assessment will allow students to choose what they want to do to show their knowledge about magnetism as well as choose projects that best fit their learning style.
IV. Analysis
A. Description of Class Context
The informal assessment was given to the class at the start of the unit. Students were instructed to write anything on the circle map that they knew about magnets and how they knew it. Students were told that if they were unsure about what they knew they should write it down regardless whether they think its right or wrong. After students wrote their individual ideas down the class as a whole shared their ideas and they were put on a poster. The reason for this assessment was to see what my students knew about the topic prior to the unit. It was also a way for me to see what misconceptions they had on the topic of magnets. Three weeks into the unit students reviewed their circle maps and their class poster. Students went through both crossing out and changing any incorrect information that they previously thought was correct. Students also added any new information they learned that they didn’t have on the map. This informal assessment allowed me to see how students’ thinking on magnets has changed and how much new learned information they obtained. It also showed me what misconceptions students were still holding on to and what concepts need to be reviewed.The informal assessment was not graded formally. I assessed the circle maps by two different criteria. The first was how much the students previously knew about the topic and a how much of it was correct. Second, how many changes did the student make to their circle map and how much new information was added. If a student corrected and added a lot of information then that told me that they understood the unit. If a student didn’t make a lot corrections or added new information then this told me that they may be struggling.
The formal assessment was given at the end of the unit. Students were given a “think-tac-toe” sheet and instructed to read over each project and box. After, I went through each project explaining it in more detail and telling the students what I expected for each project. I also instructed students how many projects from each row they could select. Students were then given 10-15 minutes to decide on the three projects they wanted to do. Folders with rubrics for each projects were put out for students to look through the help them better decide which assignments they were going to complete. Students were then given five days in class along with a weekend to work on their projects. Each project was graded according to the rubric that was with it.
B. Analysis of Informal Assessment
Student 1I would rate this student’s work as a high level. By looking at the original ideas they wrote down, this student came up with ideas that are higher level compared to other students in the class. Most of the students wrote that magnets attract to metal and they have two different sides. This student wrote more specific and in depth ideas such as: magnets conduct electricity, magnets are found in compasses, and the core of the earth is a magnet. This student didn’t need to make any corrections to their original ideas. The only one they could have made was replacing “positive and negatives sides” with North and South poles. However, this student did add new information that they learned over the past three weeks. Again, the information that they added to their map were higher level ideas than other students. This student added ideas such as: differences between temporary and permanent magnet domains and magnetic material found in animals to help them navigate.
Looking at this student’s work it shows me that they not only had a lot of prior knowledge about the topic, but that they also recalled some of the harder concepts taught in the unit. Although the student didn’t add many of the easier concepts taught, the fact that they incorporated the harder ones into their map shows me that they may have already had these easy topics as prior knowledge and the true concepts they learned were of the more challenging ones.
Student 2
I would rate this student’s map as a medium level. The students showed to have some prior knowledge about the topic however, most of the ideas that were written had to do with the attraction properties of metal. After the three weeks the student was able to correct some terminology they used. They replaced “positive and negatives sides” with north and south poles, and corrected the misconception that magnets attract to all metals. The student also added new ideas to the map however, the ideas they added all had to do with magnet attraction. The ideas included were that magnets attract to only three materials, materials are ferromagnetic, and examples of the materials. I would view these ideas as being some of the easier concepts covered in class. The student did include an idea about the domains of ferromagnetic material which was a tougher concept in the unit.
Looking at this student’s work I know that the student was able to correct some misconceptions they had which shows me that they are changing the way they think about magnets and that they can recognize the errors in their original thinking. However, since the student only added the easy learned concepts of the unit it makes me wonder if they struggled with some of the harder topics covered.
Student 3
This map I would rate as a low level. The student showed that they didn’t have a lot of prior knowledge about the topic. However, the student was unable to add a lot of new ideas to their map. The ideas the student did add were ones that were covered in the very beginning of the unit (i.e. that attraction is a push force and repulsion is a pull force). The student did change their one original idea by adding that magnets attract to a ferro-magnet (not ferromagnetic material). But the new idea still isn’t fully correct. This map indicates to me that the student is struggling with the unit because they were unable to add any of the easier concepts to it and if they are struggling with the easy p[arts then they are definitely not understanding the harder concepts.
Summary
Overall, I noticed between these three students that they all had similar misconceptions about magnets. They thought that magnets attract to all metals, and that magnets have a negative and a positive side. At least two of the three students were able to accurately correct their original misconceptions with the information they learned in class. Only one of the three students were able to add harder concepts and ideas about magnetism into their map. Looking at these maps I can tell which concepts students understood and which ones need to be reviewed. I can also see that student three is struggling with a lot of the unit so they would be a student that I would have to supply extra supports to them to help. This assessment meets my learning goals in that all students were able to assess their prior knowledge of magnets. Also, all of the students were able to correct misconceptions they previously had as well as have a visual representation of their thinking process.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment
Student 1
Student 1's Work Samples
This student’s performance I rated as high. Their atom diagram was accurate along with detailed explanations for each label. The only error found was that the student though that both protons and neutrons have a positive charge. The student also gave a good description of how a magnetic domain is formed and included a diagram showing the difference between a magnetic and non magnetic domain. By including the pictures with the explanations I could easily see that the student fully understood the concept and the differences between the two.
For the article and thinking map project the student broke down the article into 4 steps on how to use a compass. The student also added extra boxes with each step to go into more detail. The map was written neatly and was organized so that I knew what the student was thinking when they created the map. This map showed me that the student can read an article, comprehend it, and organize the information into a thinking map that accurately represents what they are thinking. It also shows me that this student knows how a compass works both as a magnet and as an orienteering device.
Lastly, this student power point was beyond the expectations required for the project. The student gave background information on each of the four topics required before getting into the main topic. The student also included extra information that wasn’t assigned and included numerous pictures that accurately reflected the topic being presented. From viewing this PowerPoint I knew that this student clearly understood how magnets attract and repel, how a compass works, how a magnetic domain is created, and how the magnetic and geographic poles differ from one another.
Student 2
Student 2's Work Samples
I rated this student’s assessment as medium. For their atom diagram they accurately drew it with all of the correct labels and parts. While the student did give an explanation of how a domain is created they didn’t include a picture which would have given me a better understanding if the student knew what a magnetic domain was and how it is different from a non magnetic domain.
This student’s tree map was well written and organized. From looking at it I was easily able to see that the student knew the four main techniques o whale navigation from reading the article. However, I think this student’s explanation for each technique were a little short. I think that if this student went into a little more detail on certain subtopics such as the “sonar” and the “whale talking.” The two branches were a little vague and made it difficult for me to see if they really understood what each of them are and what the difference between them is.
The PowerPoint had many grammatical errors in it and some of the information presented was incomplete. The slide about the compass didn’t really talk about how a compass works. The students didn’t specify what makes the needle point in a certain direction and didn’t make the connection of which magnetic poles of the earth the needle points to. I think that this student could have gone into more detail on many of the topics presented. From this PowerPoint I can see that this student somewhat gets the general idea but may still be fuzzy on some of the specifics of the topics or still some misconceptions.
Student 3
Student 3's Work Samples
This student’s work I rated as low. The parts of the atom diagram were mislabeled. The student didn’t include neutrons in their atom and put the protons and electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The student also didn’t include a diagram or explanation or how a magnetic domain is created. From looking at the project I can see that this student does not understand what the protons and electrons do in the atom and where they are located. Also, by not including an explanation for a domain I can see that the student doesn’t understand how a domain is formed. This is understandable because in order to understand how a domain is made one has to know how an atom works first.
This student’s flow map was not sequenced correctly and the steps didn’t flow from one to the other. It seems as if the student just grabbed random facts from the article and put them into a flow map formation. This shows me that the student is struggling with their reading comprehension. It is obvious that they did not understand the article they read and how a compass works. It also shows me that they may not understand how to sequence information into a flow map. Therefore, I would need to review how to create a flow map with this student.
The Power Point created did not meet the requirements of the rubric. The student only covered one of the four topics required. The rest of the presentation was on topics that were not assigned and a majority of the information was incomplete or inaccurate. The student also didn’t incorporate any pictures or graphics in to the presentation. I think that this project was rushed and that the student didn’t look at the rubric or requirements for the assignment.
Summary:
The graph below shows the distribution of grades for the formal assessment of one of my classes. I chose the class for which I had the most students in. The graph shows that when comparing the scores of the females and the males, the males overall had a slightly higher score than the females. Both genders had 100 has the highest grade however, the distribution in-between the male scores were less than the females. Overall, the females’ average on this assessment was a 77 and the males were a 76. Therefore, both averages were about the same and around a C/C+. This to me seems like a good average. It shows that it wasn’t an easy or hard assessment. There were projects that were easy, medium, and hard so all students had the same difficulty level which made it fair. I think what also made this assessment fair was that the students got to pick their assessment. Therefore, they were able to pick projects that they were confident in doing well on.
Formal Assessment Chart
V. Commentary / Reflection
A. Reflections from Informal Assessment
This informal assessment is something that I would do again for a lesson and I wouldn’t change anything about it. I liked using it because it gave students the opportunity to visually look at their prior knowledge and then reevaluate it later on with new and more accurate information. It also allowed students to look at the way they think and organize their thoughts on a topic. The thinking map was a great way to do this. I also liked this assessment because for the teacher it is easy to look at these maps and see which students are getting it and which ones aren’t. It is obvious to see which misconceptions students still have and what topics they didn’t really understand. Another advantage to this informal assessment is that it can be used in any unit and it is really a great way to activate prior knowledge at the beginning of one.B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
The Think-Tac-Toe was a great way to assess my students because it gave them the choice of what they wanted to do for their grade. Students are more likely to do well on a project or an assessment that gives them choices, it makes them feel as if they have a say in the class. It is also good because each project can be adapted to a specific type of learning. As a teacher this helps you to meet all of the diverse learning needs of your students. The only improvements I would make on this assessment is to add more projects to it so I have more to pick and choose from. I would also create a more diverse group of projects for students to do. The only down side to this form of assessment is that you have nine different rubrics to grade from which can be a teachers nightmare. Also, next time I would rethink the point values associated with each project and make all projects the same point value. I didn’t think that completely through and different projects came out equaling different point values.